The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina has faulted Nigeria’s government plan to allow massive import of staple food to crash prices.
Adesina revealed this to African Primates of the Anglican Church at a Retreat in Abuja, Nigeria at the Weekend.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, last week announced plans for a 150-day Duty-Free Import Window for food commodities including maize, wheat, rice and other staple foods.
However, Adesina said the decision by Nigeria’s government to allow massive food importation risks destroying the country’s agriculture.
According to him, instead of the import-drive, the Nigerian government should focus on producing more food to stabilize food prices which will create jobs, reduce foreign exchange spending and stabilize the Naira against the dollar.
He said, “Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilize prices. Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilize food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, which will further help stabilize the Naira.
“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity,” he said, “Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation.”
The development comes as Nigeria’s headline and food inflation increased to 33.69 percent and 40.66 percent respectively.
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